


An Apology Would Have Been Fine

by MirrorDragon



Series: Dooblebug's Mer AU [2]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Okay fine its going in parts because I'm impatient and its 2am
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:13:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22623853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MirrorDragon/pseuds/MirrorDragon
Summary: The culture that the merfolk share on the surface is confusing and strange, especially when you haven't interacted with another person for many, many years. But it's probably in God Tamer's best interests to suck up her pride and accept their friendship, to mend the bridges she tried to burn.Although... She probably didn't need to fight a whole shark
Relationships: God Tamer & Myla (Hollow Knight), God Tamer & Tiso (Hollow Knight)
Series: Dooblebug's Mer AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1627666
Comments: 15
Kudos: 46





	An Apology Would Have Been Fine

**Author's Note:**

> Hi discord squad! I'm back on my bullshit again! Also Mons found out how to look at past editing history so I needed to slam this bad boy out quick!  
> [Mer AU](https://dooblebugs.tumblr.com/tagged/mer-au)

The far edges of the reef held quite the remarkable view. Certainly not as bright and colourful as the coral rich stones further upward, that was for sure, and the small, darting fish tended to stay where the water was shallower. But here, where the rocky ground tumbled away into a vast drop, the ocean falling and fading down as far as the light could travel, Myla thought it was simply _spectacular_.

She drew herself a little higher, tilting up her chin and letting her eyes drift closed as her voice carried out, far across the open water. The slow, easy swing of her tail churned the water from side to side as she sat, curled up on one of the outcropping table corals.

Nothing but swirling, endless blue lay before her, and as she sang, a high, melancholy tune, she dreamed that maybe, her song could sail onwards forever. It would follow the currents and tides, dancing across the sapphire waves, until it reached another distant shore, many miles away. Just the thought made her whole face turn up into a wide smile. Here at the outer reef, it was peaceful, away from all the distractions, and Myla could sing out to her hearts content.

The song began to reach its crescendo, her tail swishing faster with joy as her voice rose, louder and louder. But just as the melody started to peak, her chest feeling light, the spell was broken suddenly by the shape of God Tamer, emerging from the dark below like a sharp, pointed shadow.

With a quick gasp, the song in her throat was caught, and Myla curled up, tail twisting to her front and shoulders ducking down. An automatic response; the champion’s presence was intimidating at best, and downright terrifying at worst. On unlucky days when her fury was like a tempest, uncaged and ruthless, teeth bared to all who came near, Myla found it best to hide away in one of the caves and wait for the storm to settle.

She knew that God Tamer was trying, doing her best to fit in with their family group. The dark, cold sea trench of her home had been a far more vicious place that the reef would ever be, allowing only the cruellest merfolk to survive there. Her habits were deeply ingrained, and born out of violent fear. But deep down, the mudskipper couldn’t help but hope for her scars to heal just a little faster. If only so she didn’t have to startle every time the champion swam past.

As she drifted up into the light, her fin cutting through the water like a blade, Myla shifted with the intent of hurrying away, to find another quiet spot to sing. But her eye caught the sight of the creature God Tamer was carrying, a massive shape under one arm, and suddenly she couldn’t help but exclaim her surprise, ear fins flicking up high.

“W-woah! That’s q-quite t-the catch!” She stuttered, eyes wide with amazement, and God Tamer slowed as she passed by. An impressively large Tiger Shark, mauled and bloodied, but still an outstanding prize, hung from her side. It was almost the length of the champion herself, and obviously quite the feat to be carrying it one handed.

Her head turned towards Myla, eyes sharp and gleaming, and the mudskipper couldn’t help but startle at the gashes across her scales. Deep, jagged lines marred her dull coloured tail, and a particularly fearsome bite was etched into her abdomen. A good few of those wounds were sure to leave a scar. Her paler colouring was bruised purple and black, and yet despite it all, her face was practically glowing with a wild, fiery grin. Her fangs gleamed with blood, and her eyes were crinkled up so much that the scar across her right one nearly met in the middle.

“Heh. Yeah.” She laughed offhandedly, and her smile grew wider to the point Myla considered it slightly unhinged.

She shifted on her coral, shuffling closer to get a better look, and God Tamer couldn’t help but subtly show off her prey a little more, lifting it higher by its gills to stretch it out. The beast looked even bigger than before, and blood seeped from its wounds. She could smell it in the water.

“You r-r-really didn’t n-need to go to so much effort, you know.” Myla said, tail swishing up as she rested on her elbows, fins ducking down to seem smaller. “There’s much s-safer prey in the reef.”

God Tamer looked amused, scoffing with a light snarl. “But where’s the fun in that?”

Myla completely forgot how to respond, her mouth opening for second, before eventually deciding against a reply. God Tamer was so different to the rest of them, savage and feral, filled with hostility and mistrust. Even her appearance felt foreign, fins too pointed and teeth too sharp. Her eyes looked glossy in the night, reflecting the light of the moon like a spirit, and the disfigurements across her body were enough to make even Hornet grimace.

The champion looked almost blood crazed, and Myla really didn’t want to encourage an argument with her. Her head ducked down to stare intently at the coral, avoiding eye contact.

With a quick huff as she tossed the shark back under one arm, God Tamer turned away and began to swim back up towards the reef, the tension leaving along with her. But just as she passed by the rocks, she stopped, and then slowly edged back towards Myla.

Her grin had dropped, brows creased a little, and Myla let out a small squeak as she curled back up again.

“Actually Myla.” She began, looking slightly nervous. “I need to ask you something.”

“Oh.” She piped up. Somehow, the frenzied air had completely vanished from the champions face, so she forced herself to relax, if only by a fraction. It was certainly the politest interaction they had shared so far. “S-sure! What d-do you need?”

Her long, ragged fins twitched, stiffly manoeuvring her catch into the other arm, fidgeting. “I was… Um. How exactly do you go about sharing fish?”

Her voice drifted a little off at the end, but Myla was still able to catch it, immediately jolting straight up in shock.

“Y-you’re sharing _t-t-that_?” Her eyes grew wide, nodding towards the bloodied mass under her arm. God Tamer looked taken aback, her shoulders growing tense and mouth tightening into a thin line.

“Yeah” She bit out, frowning at Myla as her tail arched over, making her loom over the little mudskipper. “Is that a problem?”

“No no! Its not a p-problem! It’s just, well…” She blinked, her hands coming together and tapping in a hesitant, jittery pattern. “It’s just very big.”

“Too big?” God Tamer’s eyes narrowed, her face a picture of cold frustration, and Myla scrambled for words.

“Not too big! It’s not really about the size, it’s j-just. Um. W-well, you’re really hurt! And we d-don’t get sharks anywhere here, so you m-must have travelled far. You put so m-much effort into it. That’s what m-m-makes it s-such a huge g-gesture, you know? And this one is m-massive”

Mouth lilting to one side, looking away, the champion considered her explanation for a few moments. She scowled, flicked her tail in thought, before nodding with a self-satisfied grin. “Good. I want to win.”

“Oh for sure! You’ll certainly w-win with a gift like that! I d-d-don’t think anything will compare!” Myla agreed, smiling back. Although what God Tamer was planning on winning, she could only guess. Taking a gamble, she added, “I’m s-sure your m-mate will love it to bits, you must care about t-them a lot.”

Astoundingly, that had an effect, and God Tamer’s face lit up with the slightest dusting of pink. Her eyes glanced down to the shark in her arms, grin softening to something fond as she mumbled to herself to herself. “Hm, I hope…”

Her gaze flicked back to Myla, face growing stern again, the brief warmth covered up by her typical cold exterior. The brightness was still gleaming in her eyes though, Myla could tell just how pleased she was. She had never seen the champion look like that before, and her chest was already glowing with happiness. _She was doing so much better than before!_

“Anyway, tell me how I share it. That’s what Tiso keeps trying to do right? He keeps giving me half eaten fish.”

Her fins flicked up, heart tightening as she remembered. With the best of her effort, Myla attempted to hide her wince.

Everyone in Rivermouth had seen the way God Tamer had acted towards Tiso; rejecting him every single time he laid his heart on the line and offered to share half of his prey. Cruel and carelessly, even after everything Tiso had done to help her, offering his cave when she was fighting off sleep, fixing her injuries, staying by her side as she recovered, she still scorned his efforts time and time again. He was the only mer out of them all to show her such devotion, –mostly she was ignored and avoided, no one wishing to provoke her ire– and yet she responded with nothing but repulsion.

The first occasion, she had smacked the fish right out of his hands with a harsh snarl, ruthless enough to catch the attention of all the mers in the reef. And then she had insulted him. Scoffed at his gift, told him that _she could find her own fish, she didn’t need his pity_ , and sent him scurrying away with a nip to the tail.

If that alone hadn’t made their opinion of her distasteful, then the times after had only made them more appalled. Tiso’s heart would break further and further with every refusal, her voice cutting and heartless, leaving him crushed with embarrassment.

They had all loathed the way she treated him. Even Myla, who really did try to see the best in everyone, couldn’t help but feel some form of resentment. God Tamer’s bitter nature had worn them down thin, to the point where Hornet had to be physically restrained from drawing her needle against her, snarling and cursing her presence.

But the fact that she was asking now… _She really had no idea what such a gesture meant_?

It did make more sense, Myla had never wanted to believe someone could be so intentionally hateful, especially someone living so close beside her. And despite all her misgivings, God Tamer _had_ decided to remain amongst their family group. Myla had sometimes seen her playing with little Ghost, batting them carefully from side to side as they squawked with delight.

She had wondered endless times, especially on the days when Tiso looked so miserable, _why didn’t God Tamer just leave? If she hated them all so much, why didn’t she just return to the Colosseum?_

But if the deep was such a cold, unforgiving place, when would they have ever shared kindness freely? The affectionate culture they loved so dearly up by the surface would never have made its way into the arena. Gifts and sharing would be unheard of; when every passing second held the promise of a slow and painful death, why spare anyone a single thought? She had seen the champion hunch over her prey and tear into it ravenously, swallowing it down in seconds and hissing at anyone who came too close. Did they even have enough food to share?

“It’s r-really easy, don’t worry.” She said brightly, swishing her tail to encourage God Tamer to come closer. Although she completely missed the hint, so Myla shuffled to the edge of the coral herself. “All you n-need to do if offer your f-fish… s-shark, and ask _‘Will you share this fish with me?’_ ”

God Tamer nodded.

“Then if they say y-yes, you just nibble a little b-bit off, and then pass it to them! It’s different than just g-giving them a fish. A g-gift means you consider someone t-to b-be a close friend. But sharing a fish is a lot m-more intimate, something you d-do with a loved one, or someone you care d-deeply about. Like a m-mate, or your family. And then the effort you p-put into it means a lot.”

Her eyes drifted back to the shark, God Tamer’s following. There was a moment of pause, the waves above crashing and filling the air with the rushing sound of water, before the champions face widened into its frenzied grin again. Myla had to admit, she was right to be proud. A gift like that was enough to make anyone feel adored.

“Great. Thanks.” She said, leaving the mudskipper speechless as she finally swam back off towards the bright, blooming corals.

She… had said thank you…

Myla breathed out a quiet giggle, closing her eyes and bringing a hand to her mouth, before lifting up to watch the champion disappear behind the rocks, carrying her prize along with her.

This was going to give Tiso a heart attack for sure, and certainly leave him stuttering for days.

Her face curled up with a smile. “This I have g-got to see!”


End file.
